DAILY- HOMILY

DECEMBER 28, 2008
FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY

GENESIS 15: 1-6; 21: 1-3
Some time after these events, this word of the LORD came to Abram in a
vision: "Fear not, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward
very great." But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts
be, if I keep on being childless and have as my heir the steward of my
house, Eliezer?" Abram continued, "See, you have given me no
offspring, and so one of my servants will be my heir." Then the word
of the LORD came to him: "No, that one shall not be your heir; your
own issue shall be your heir." He took him outside and said: "Look up
at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so," he added, "shall
your descendants be." Abram put his faith in the LORD, who credited it
to him as an act of righteousness. The LORD took note of Sarah as he
had said he would; he did for her as he had promised. Sarah became
pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that
God had stated. Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom
Sarah bore him.

HEBREWS 11: 8. 11-12. 17-19
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that
he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he
was to go. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was
past the normal age -- and Sarah herself was sterile -- for he thought
that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that
there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as
numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the
seashore. By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,
and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,
of whom it was said, "Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name."
He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead, and he
received Isaac back as a symbol.

LUKE 2:22-40
When the days were completed for their purification according to the
law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the
Lord, just as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that
opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord, and to offer the
sacrifice of a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, in accordance
with the dictate in the law of the Lord. Now there was a man in
Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see
death before he had seen the Christ of the Lord. He came in the Spirit
into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to
perform the custom of the law in regard to him, he took him into his
arms and blessed God, saying: "Now, Master, you may let your servant
go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your
salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for
revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel." The
child's father and mother were amazed at what was said about him; and
Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child
is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign
that will be contradicted --and you yourself a sword will pierce-- so
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." There was also a
prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She
was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after
her marriage, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She never
left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time, she gave thanks to God and spoke
about the child to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child
grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was
upon him.

REFLECTION
When Simon finally lays his eyes on Jesus, he sighs one of the
briefest, yet most beautiful prayers in the New Testament, what we
call the "Nunc Dimittis": "Now, Lord, you can let your servant go in
peace; your word has been fulfilled; with my own eyes, I have seen the
salvation you prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal
you to the nations and the glory of Israel."

Perhaps we've heard others say that after a happy or fulfilling event,
like a successful 30-day retreat, they actually believe that they
could die. And we are sure many of us, at some point in our life, when
we sincerely felt happy, we must have sighed a "Nunc Dimittis" as
well.

In today's Gospel, we hear Simon sigh for his freedom. Now that he has
seen the Light of the world in, of all forms, an infant, born, of all
people, poor parents — Simon considers himself free.

In the light of the coming New Year, perhaps the only question that
occurs to us was this: just how many things in our life have we
allowed to make us unfree? That's really like asking: How many things
that we have taken on — feelings, possessions, values — have really
dealt our personal freedom and growth a sense of pessimism? What
automatic thoughts and default conclusions and favorite emotions do we
have in our life that are no longer really life-giving, but rather
death-dealing?

And we realize that instead of really wanting to be a freer person,
and thus a more joyful person, we've actually and repeatedly put the
power of our will on retirement. Instead of willing ourselves to
become free from self-defeating attachments, we've actually given in
to thoughts that restrict our freedom to become happy, contented and
peaceful.

So as we wait for the New Year to come, let us pray that we gain an
interior knowledge of the ways we've actually become our own
incarcerators — enslaving ourselves in our own self-pity and
helplessness. We need the Lord's gentle light to wash away the
darkness of our negativity, desperateness and sadness, so that we may
really begin to live

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Bianca Foenander
- Lisa
- Graham
- Sophia Gonzalez
… In Thanksgiving for all the blessings received: Ronnie Delgado
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Celia R. Marin
- Thanksgiving: Massage To Go
- Wedding Anniversary: Victoria & Leonardo L. Yu
- In Memoriam(+): Teofilo E. Jose
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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